Material-handling apparatus



June 17 1924.

W. TRAVELL MATER IAL HANDLING APARATUS Filed MarchA 1 /l/l l ///////l/ llllll//Il/ /lll//l//IKl//I/l/ WITNES SES;-

Patented June 17, 1924 1- l.,

UNITED STATES WARREN TRAVELL, or NEW YORK, n. Y.

MATERIAL-HANDLING APrARAfrUs.

Application led March 1, 1922.

T0 all whom t may concern f Be it known that I, WARREN TRAvnLL, a citizen of the United States, and resident of New York, in the county o'fNew York and State of `New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Material- Handling Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in material-handling apparatus andmore particularly to skip hoists. Hitherto in skip hoist mechanisms, the speed of travel of the skip usually has been the same as the rate at which the hoisting rope was wound on the drum of the power hoist. It is an object of the invention to provide a hoisting and transporting equipment in which while the power hoist is operating at uniform speed, the speed of travel of the skip shall be automatically increased as the skip passes from a steeply inclined portion of its way, or hoist-way, to a less steeply inclined portion, or traverse-way. This permits the use of a moderate speed on the hoist-way where such moderate speed is 'desirable for the automatic loading of the skip or other purposes and a higher rate of speed on the traverse way. thereby reducing the period of the round trip travel of the skip and increasing the handling capacity of the apparatus.`

It is also an object of the invention to make an improvement in hoisting and transporting apparatus to the end that thepull of the hoist rope on the power hoist shall be nearly constant at all times whether the skip is loaded or empty and whether running on the hoist-way or onthe traverse-way, thereby obtaining a uniform load on the power means and effecting an increase in the economy of operation. n i

This invention also applies as an additional improvement to my improvement in hoisting and traversing apparatus described in U. S. Letters Patent 1,333,948, dated March 16,1920. n It is also an object of the invention to provide the other advantages which are characteristic of the construction disclosed.

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a side elevation illustrating one embodiment of the invention in which the traverse-way is horizontal.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of same. y

Fig. 3 is a side elevation'ot an arrangement in which the traverse-way is so inclined that its rise is half of its length and Serial No. 540,297.

the skip is suspended by two parts of rope i while on the hoist-way.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a similar arsuspended by three parts of rope while on thehoist-way. f

Fig. 5 is a plan view on a larger scale lshowing the skip with hoist ropeand pullback ropes. f

Fig. 6 is a plan view on a larger scale showing the cross-bar illustrated yin Fig. 4. The drawings show apparatus having a way 1, represented by a pair of rails forming a track. This way has a hoist portion 1 which is vertical or steeply inclined, a traverse portion 1.whioh is less steeply inclined or horizontal, and a curved section 1 connecting these two portions ofthe way. rilhe skip or bucket 2y is hauled along this way by the hoist rope 3 leading to the power-controlled drum 4. This ,drumA may be driven by any suitable means not shown, such as an electric motor or a steam engine. When the traverse-way is horizontal or nearly so, it is necessary to provide means for hauling the skip backward along 4the traverse-way. Such a means is shown in Figs. 1, 2, and ,5 and comprises a counterweight 5 with rope 6 leading around fixed sheaves 7 and 8 to a cross-bar9 which is carried bythe skip in pockets 10 opening forward, while the skip is on thetraverseway, and which is picked up by kthe fixed pockets 11 as the skip passes from the traverse-way to the hoist-way and is held by these latter pocketswhile the skip is on the hoist-way. This pull-back means is more fully described in my U., S. Letters Patent 1,333,948 dated March 16, 1920.

Figs. 1, 3, and 4 show a counterweight 12 and a counterweight rope 13 which acts on the drum 4 in a direction opposite to that of the hoist rope 3, thereby producing a balancing effect. Preferably the counterweight should be sufficiently heavy to balance nearly the entire weight of the skip while the skip is on the hoist portion of the way, or else heavy enough tovbalance the skip and about halfof its usual load. In this latter case, the power hoist during the lowering of the empty skip on the hoist-way will be doing the same amount of work as it does in `pulling ythe loaded skip up thehoist way.

The number of parts of rope by which this counterweight is suspended may be varied to suit requirements. Figs. 3 and 4 show the counterweight Suspended by two parts of rope which, passing around the sheave'l, attached to the counterweight, has its end fastened at a fixed point 14. In Fig. l, the rope is shown passing over a iiXed sheave 16 and leading to an auxiliary counterweight 17.' This arrangement is more par tic'ularly described in my U. S. Letters Patent 1,333,948 dated March 16, 1920, and provides a means by which the skip is balanced while on the hoist-way and is relieved of such balancing effect while on the traverseway. Y Y

Referring to Figs. l, 2, 3, and 5, the-hoist rope yjleads from the ldrum 4 around a sheave 20 carried by the skipand has its end fastened to a cross-bar 9 which may be the samecross-bar as that used in obtaining the pull-back effect or it may be avseparate cross-bar if so desired. W'hile the skip is on the hoist-way, this cross-.bar is held by fixed pockets l1 and the Yskip is suspended by two parts of rope. As, the skip passes vfrom the hoist-way to the traverse-way, pockets 10 on the skip pick up the cross-bar from the fixed pockets and carry it as the skip moves valong the traverse-way thus changing thel two-part rope 'connection to a single-part rope connection and thereby causing the skip to travel along the traverseway at double the speed which it had on the hoist-way. lhen the skip passes back from the traverse-way to the hoist-way, the reverse of the above operation takes place.

In Fig. 3,'the hoist-way is vertical and the traverse-wayV is' so inclined that the sine 0f the angle which it makes with a horiv, Zontal line is one-half, or, in other words,

its rise equals one-half its run per unit of length, and the skip is suspended by two parts of rope while on the hoist-way and pulled by a single part of rope while on the traverse-way. lf, with this arrangement, the counterweight is suiciently heavy to balance the entire weight of the skip and half its load, then the` work required of the power hoist will be uniform at all times during the movement ofthe skip with resulting economy of operation.

Fig. 4 shows an arrangement in which the hoist-way 1 is steeply inclined to the horizontal and the traverse-way 1 is inclined at such an angle that the rise per unit of length of this portion of the way is one third of the rise for an equal length of the hoist-way; also, the skip while on the hoistway is suspended by three parts of ropa55. This latter effect is obtained by leading the rope from the sheave 20 on the skip around another sheave 22 on the cross-bar 9', shown Vingreater detail in Fig. 6, and fastening the end ofthe rope to the skip. The operation f of and theeffect obtained by this arrangenient is simile-r t@ ,that of and by the pretended to cover in this patent whatever fea,

tures of patentable novelty eXist in the in- 1 vention disclosed.

I claim as my invention f l. In material-handling apparatus, the combination of a way having two portions, one of which is more steeply inclinedthan the other; a skip movable in a detinte path along said way; a sheave attached to said skip; a power-driven drum; a cross-bar;-ar

hoisting rope leading .fromY said drum around the sheave at the skip to the crossbar; means attached to the skip for carrying this cross-bar while the Vskip is on the less steeply inclined portion of the way; and means for relieving the skip of the crossbar while the skip is on the more steeply inclined portion of the way. Y y

2. In material-handling apparatus, the combination of a way having two portions, one of which is more steeply inclined than Vthe other; a bucket movable in a definite path along said way; a sheave'attached to said bucket; a cross-bar; a hoisting rope attached to said crossbar and leading around said sheave; power means applicable to said rope for drawing the bucket along the way; means attached to the bucket for picking up said cross-bar as the bucket passes from the more steeply inclined to` the less steeply inclined portion of the way and for carrying it while on the less steeply inclined portion of the way; and means for relieving the bucket of the cross-bar as the bucket passes from the less'steeply inclined to the more steeply inclined portion of the way and for holding it while the bucket is on the more steeply inclined portion ofthe way.

3. n material-handling apparatus, the combination of a way having two portions, one of which is more steeply inclined than the other; a bucket movable in a definite .path along said way; a hoisting rope; power means for controlling the motion of said hoisting rope; means whereby the bucket is suspended by two parts of said rope while 4, In material-handling apparatus, the combination of a wayA having a vertical or steeply inclined portion and a horizontal or slightly inclined portion; a bucket ,movable in a definite path along said way; a rope and power means applicable thereto for drawing the bucket along said way; and two devices, registering together, one facing forward attached to the bucket andthe other facing likewise fixed at a position which the bucket passes as it moves from the vertical or steeply inclined to the horizontal or slightly inclined portion of the way, each of which devices is adapted to pick up from the other the end of said rope, whereby a shift is made between double-part line connection and single-part line connection of said rope wit-li said bucket. t

5L In hoisting apparatus,xthe combination of a hoisting bucket; a sheave attached to said bucket; ay fixed way along which saidk bucket is moved, said fixed way comprising a steeply inclined section and a slightly iiiclined section joined together by a curved section; a power-driven hoisting drum; a hoisting rope having one end attached to said drum and leading around the sheave on the bucket; a bar to which the other end of the hoisting rope is fastened; means, located near the curved section of the way; for receiving and holding said bar when said bucket. moves from theV slightly inclined section to the steeply inclined sect-ion of the way; and means attached to or part of the bucket for picking up and carrying said bar when said bucket moves from the steeply inclined section to the slightly inclined section of the way.

6. lIn material-handling apparatus,y thc` combinationv of a way having a hoist portion and a traverse portion; a skip adapted to move thereon; a hoist rope and power -means applicable thereto for drawing the skip up the hoist-way and forward along the traverse-way; a counterweight and second rope` adapted to draw the skipbackward along the traverse-way; and two devices, registering together, one fixed facing forward on the skip and the other stationarily fixed facing likewise at a position which the skip passes as it moves from the hoist-way to the traverse-way, each of which devices is adapted to pick up from the other the ends of the hoist rope and counterweight rope, whereby the skip and counterweight inter-actwhile the skip is on thetraverse-way and not while it is on the hoist-way and whereby ashift is made between single-part line connection of i the hoist rope with the skip while it is on the traverse-way and two-part lineA connection of the hoist rope with the skip while it is on the hoist-way. n

7 In material-handling apparatus, the combination of a way having a hoist portion and a ytraverse portion; a skip and means i fixed including a rope topmove the skipalong the way; a sheave attached to the skip; around which sheave the rope passes; a bar attached to said rope, arranged across the way; means on said skip to engage and hold said bar, thereby making a single line connect-ion of the rope to the skip while the skip is on the traverse-way; and fixed means vbeside the way adapted toengageand hold said ba'r,-

thereby making a double line connection of theI rope to the skip while the skip is on the hoist-way. s f

8. In material-handling apparatus; the combination of a. way having a hoist portion and a traverse' portion; a skip and means including a rope to move the skipalong the way; a sheave attachedlto the skipfaround which sheave the rope passes; abar attached to said rope arranged across the way; and

two pairs of pockets, one pair on the skip and the other pair fixed at a point beside the way; said pockets opening forward; the

two pairs registering together as the )skip passes the fixed point, each pair being adapted to engage said bar while it is held by thek other pair at said passing; said pockets being in duplicate on the skip, one on each side of the forward portion thereof andy being in duplicate, one at each side of the way at the them. y

9. In material-handling apparatus, the combination of a way having a hoist portion anda traverse portion; a skip'and means in-` cluding a rope to move the skip along the' way; a sheave attached to the skip around fwhich sheave the rope passes; abar attached passes; a bar arranged across the way and a sheave attached tosaid bar; around which sheave the rope passes, its end being fastened to the skip; means attached to the skip for picking up said bar as the skip passes from the hoist-way to the traverseway and for carrying it while the skip moves along the traverse-way;- and means for engaging the bar as'the skip passes from the traverse-way to the hoist-way and for holding it while the skip is on the hoist-way; thereby making a single part line connection of the rope to the skip while it is on'the `traverse-way and a threepart line connection of the. rope to the skip while, it is on the hoist-way. 'i f y Y 11.,` In' material-handling. apparatus, the

vpoint with the'skip passing between" combination of a way having a h oist portion and a traverse portion; a'skip adapted to move thereon; a hoist rope and power means applicable thereto for drawing the skip along the hoist-way and traverse-way;

means whereby the skip is suspended by a* plurality of parts of said rope while on the hoist-way; and means whereby this pluralpart line suspension is changed as the skip passes from thehoist-way to the traverse- .wayfso that the skip is hauledby only a single part of rope whilel on the traverse-way.

12. In material-handling apparatus, the .combination of away having two portions, one of which is vmore steeply inclined than the other, the'rise per foot of run yof the more steeply inclined portion being approximately twice the rise per foot of` run of the less steeply inclined portion; a skip adapted Ato move thereon; a hoist rope and power `means applicable thereto for drawing the skip along the way; a counterweight; means continuously connecting the counterweight tothe skip; means whereby the skip is suspended by two partsof the hoist rope while on the more steeply inclined portion of the 'one of which is more steeply inclined than way; and means whereby thistwo-part rope suspension is changed as the skip passes from the more steeply inclined to the less steeply inclined portion of the way, so that the skip is hauled by only asingle part of said rope while on the lesssteeply inclined portion of the way.

13. In material-handling apparatus, the combination of away having .two portions,

the other, the rise per foot of run of the more steeply inclined portion being approximately twice the rise per foot of run of the less steeply inclined portion; av skip adapted to move thereon; a hoist rope and power means applicable thereto for drawing the skip along the way, there being a continuation of *the hoist rope paid out by said drawing means; a counterweight hanging on said con- Y tinuati'on rope for balancing the weight of the skip and half of the load which the skip carries; means whereby the skipis sus-pended by two parts of the hoist rope while on lthe more steeply inclined portion of the way; `and means whereby this two-part rope sus- Y pension is changed as Vthe skip passesfrom the more steeply inclined to the less steeply inclined portion of the way so that the skip is hauled by only a single part of said rope while on the less steeply inclined portion of 1 the way; whereby the unbalanced rope pull `jon' the power means is equalized at all times whether'V the skip is loaded or empty and .whether on the more steeply inclined portion or yon the fless steeply inclined portion of the f way..

14. In material-handling apparatus, the combination of a way having a hoist portion .anla traverse-portieri; a skip adapted. to

applicable thereto for drawingthe skip up the hoist-way and forward along the traverse-way; means whereby the skip is suspended by two parts of rope while'on the hoist-way and whereby the skip is drawn forward along the traverse-way by only a single part of rope; and means for drawing vthe skip backward along the traverse-way.

16. In material-handling apparatus, the combination of a way having two portions, each of which is so inclined to the horizontal that the rise of one portion lper unit of length is a multiple of the rise ofthe other portion per unit of length; a skip adapted to move thereon; a hoist rope and power means applicable thereto for drawing the skip along said way; and means whereby the pull of the skip on the rope leading, to the power means remains constant during the travel of the skip along the two portions of the way.

17. In material-handling apparatus, the combination of a way'having two portions inclined at different angles to the horizontal.; a skip adapted to move thereon; a hoist rope and power means applicable thereto for drawing the skip along said way; a sheave attached to the skip, around' which sheave the rope passes; and two devices, registerin together, one facing forward on the skip and the other facing likewise, fixed at a position which the skip passes as it moves from one portion of the way to the other, each of which devices is adapted to pick up from the other the end of said rope, whereby a shift is made between single-part line connection and double-part line connection of said rope with said skip.

18. In material-handling apparatus, the combination of aV way comprising a hoist portion, a traverse portion, and a curved section connecting them together; a skip adapted to move thereon; a hoist rope and power means applicable thereto for drawing the skip up the hoist-way, around the curved` act while the skip is on the traverse-way and not while it is on the hoist-way and whereby a shift is made between single-part line connection of the hoist rope with the skip while it is on the traverse-way and two-part line connection of the hoist rope with the skip while it is on the hoist-way. n

19. In material-handling apparatus, the combination of a way comprising a hoist portion, a traverse portion, and a curved section connecting them together; a skip adapted to move thereon; a hoist rope and power means applicable thereto for drawing the skip up the hoist-way, around the curved section, and forward along the traverse-way; a counterweight and counterweight rope for drawing' the skip backward along the traverse-way; two devices, registering together, one facing forward on the skip and the other, facing likewise, fixed at the curved section of the way, each of which devices is adapted to pick up from the other the ends of the counterweight rope, whereby the skip and counterweight inter-act while the skip is on the traverse-way and not while it is on the hoist-way; and two other devices, similarly located, each of which latter devices is adapted to pick up from the other the end of the hoist rope, whereby7 a shift is made between single-part line connection of the hoist rope with the skip while it is on the traverse-way and two-part line connection of the hoist rope with the skip while it is on the hoist-way.

20. In material-handling apparatus, the combination of a way having a hoist portion and a traverse portion; a skip adapted to move in a fixed path thereon; a hoist. rope and power means applicable thereto for drawing the skip up the hoist-way and along the traverse-way; and means whereby the speed of travel of the skip is automatically increased as the skip passes from the hoist-way to the traverse-way, and is automatically decreased as the skip passes from the traverse-way to the hoist-way.

21. In material-handling apparatus, the combination of a way having a hoist portion and a traverse portion; a skip adapted to move in a fixed path thereon; a hoist rope and power means applicable thereto for drawing the skip up the hoist way and along `the traverseway; and means whereby the speed of travel of the skip as it passes from the hoistway to the traverse-way is automatically increased to a 'multiple of its speed on the hoist-way, and is correspondingly decreased as the skip passes from the traverseway to the hoist-way. A

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York this 15th day of February A. D. 1921.

WARREN TRAVELL. 

